yoga11912

How many times have you had an excellent drive followed by an equally excellent approach shot only to be disappointed by your chip/pitch/sand shot and/or 3-putt effort? The short game (putting, chipping, pitching and sand play) accounts for about 80 percent of your total score. These skills are too important to be ignored.

You dont believe us? The next time youre out on the golf course, count the number of shots it takes you to get from the edge of the green to the hole. If youre an average golfer like us, you will be surprised at the number of strokes you use on your short game, and it doesnt necessarily depending on what golf equipment you are using.

If you want to lower your score, your best chance to do so would be to work on your short game. With a little time and effort spent practicing with your wedges and putter, you will improve your game and shave strokes off your score. The great thing is that improving your short game does not require any special strength, coordination, conditioning or special golf clubs. These are skills that everybody who plays can masterand have fun improving! The key is to spend just as much time, if not more time, practicing your short game as you do your long game.

putting Rule: When putting, try not to think too hard. This is when mistakes are usually made. Am I taking the putter too far back? Am I aligned correctly? If you continually ask yourself these questions on the green, you are already thinking of ways to miss the putt. Just look at the hole and go straight at it. Why do you think new golfers and kids sometimes do so well at putting? Is it because they have a special gift for putting? No, of course it isnt. Its because they are not thinking about their approach and are only wanting for the ball to go in the hole. We know that this sounds overly simplistic, but if you do your thinking on the practice green and get your timing and alignment set on a consistent basis, the next time youre on the course it will all become instinctive and you can then concentrate on distance and the undulations on the green and not focus attention on your putting stroke.

putting Practice: Before you tee off on the first hole if you're in a hurry. This exercise will help you make good contact with the ball and create momentum on your putts. Place the ball about three feet away from the hole on a flat part of the green. Without using a backstroke, push the ball into the hole using your putter. In other words, don't use a backstroke during this part of the exercise. Hit the ball immediately from address, do this 5 times and get a good feel for your follow-through. After doing this, use your normal putting stroke and hit the ball another 5 times from the same distance. You should notice a difference in your putting stroke. This simple and quick exercise creates a smoother stroke and follow-through when putting.

Pitch Shot Rule: Set your hips, knees and feet open to the target and accelerate through your swing. Yes, there are other things that your could work on when hitting a wedge, but the most common mistakes that amateurs make are standing square to the ball at address and slowing down on the backswing. Correcting these two flaws will enable you to hit more consistent and accurate shots. Keeping your shoulders square and slightly opening up your hips, knees and feet towards the target will allow you to get through the shot and get air under the ball. Your follow through should be as long as, if not longer, than your backswing just to make sure you accelerate through it. This will allow you to make good contact with the ball and you will make consistently straight and accurate shots.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out to the golf course and start shaving strokes off your score!

Copyright 2007 David Lester

David Lester is the owner of http://www.shop4clubs.com a golf content website. David has worked in the golf industry for over 10 years in various capacities such as product management and international sales.